Chanel summer make-up 2011

Oh how I do like summer collections. And especially if Chanel comes out with a product called Mimosa! (Bellini next year?) Here's what I got:

I was desperate to get my hands on the nail colours - but to be honest, they're not worth the hype. Mimosa is a tremendously happy colour but it's difficult to apply, hence the rather sloppy manicure. Morning Rose is cute, it makes me think of candy, but I prefer Chanel's Pêche Nacrée from the spring collection (see pictures below to compare). And Beige Pétale is nothing special - so far I've used it once, applying just one coat to the nails (and no base/top coat) for a barely-there look when I didn't have the time to do a colourful manicure.

Summer collection: Beige Pétale, Morning Rose, Mimosa

Mimosa (summer), Morning Rose (summer), Pêche Nacrée (spring collection)

The blush-bronzers are really pretty and my favourite of the collection. I originally picked up the pink one, but then went back for the coral one. These give a soft glow to the cheeks and are perfect for summer.

Bronze Rose, Bronze Corail

Officially, I'm not into lip glosses anymore and especially not Chanel glosses because the two I had about six years ago leaked and I had to throw them out. But there was one gloss in this collection that I kept on picking up and admiring - always the same one - so I finally gave in. Glossimer 277 (Pensée) is non-glittery, it only has tiny gold sparkles (none of the outrageous blue, red, silver glitter). It is so pretty...  

Kate Middleton with Michelle Obama

Kate's dress: Reiss

Clutch: Anya Hindmarch

Butter London Victoriana

This is my first Butter London nail varnish. Great quality! Two coats (easy to apply) + top coat and my nails were still looking nice (as in, not much chipping) when I took the polish off - rather reluctantly - five days later. Staying power, yes!  

The rectangular bottles are so much more practical than eg OPI's round ones. They take up less space! 

Most of all, it's the colour that I adore, though. 

Cheap shoes

There are some things in life that I do not understand.

Usually, more expensive = better quality (= more comfortable).
However, when it comes to shoes, my experience has been: cheap = comfortable!

For example, my Prada heels (see here) are pretty to look at but hurt soon after I've put them on and I can hardly walk in them. But these cheap shoes from H+M are so comfy, I can walk in them all day. I got them in black and brown, and I feel like getting back-ups, that's how impressed I am. I can't believe it! I had no idea. Have you ever tried H+M shoes?

LV accessories, for a change

Before I forget, can I mention that the LV boxes are the cutest ever - they open like a drawer!

I didn't get a belt. It's a long strap for my pochette. It seems straightforward but it wasn't. 

I've had this pochette for years (it was one of my first designer bags), as you can see from the colour of the leather (far right, below) - it's a caramel brown. So when I went into the LV boutique a few weeks ago to get a replacement for my old strap (short) that was falling apart, I asked if there were any dark ones and they said no (which isn't true, as I found out later)... I reluctantly bought the really, really light-coloured strap (short) that you see in the picture, which looks silly! Then when I was in LV again, buying the agenda (details below), I asked again ("do you happen to have...") and the guy brought me a dark brown strap (I wanted a long one)! It's a bit wider but I think it looks better than the light brown.

I actually went in to buy an agenda. Yes, I know it's already May and it's not exactly the usual time of the year to buy calendars but I'd suddenly had an urge to write stuff on paper. Actually, it's because I've had some problems with my iPhone lately - whilst synchronising (with two computers, that's the problem), I've lost data or had them replaced with wrong data etc etc... 

Sorry LV, but Louis Vuitton wasn't my first choice. Of course I went and asked at Chanel but they told me that all the good stuff comes in December. So I'll probably get a Chanel diary at the end of the year but for now... I got this one from LV. 

Pippa Middleton style

* Reposting! This post, together with comments, just somehow disappeared! What is going on? *

Pippa wowed at her sister's wedding but do you like her style? It's similar to Kate's but she also has a more playful side - think ruffled dresses, for example.

Whose style do you like better?

I prefer Kate's. See Kate's style here and here. 

Source

Chanel Liberté

Finally gave in and bought the new Rouge Coco Shine. Chic packaging, of course, and I like that it's slimmer / smaller than the Rouge Coco.

Left: Rouge Coco Shine. Right: Rouge Coco

I got the colour Liberté, described as a sheer apricot. Beautiful soft colour, smells like Chanel, and gives a decent shine to the lips. It feels moisturising as well but because it's so sheer, it doesn't last that long. Love it, anyway, because it looks and feels so natural. 

Same swatch in different lighting

Any other colours you've tried and can recommend?

The pink VB minidress

I really like this dress by Victoria Beckham - so simple, yet sweet and sexy on Eva Longoria (she wore it back in April). Love the dark eyes, too. I think slightly shorter hair would have been better, more mature (in a good way) to balance out the cuteness of the dress...

Zara dresses

When I found out that Kate's blue dress (seen here) was from Zara, I was tempted to run straight to the shops and grab one for myself. I didn't, though - partly because I felt silly, partly because I was convinced the dress had already sold out.

So I gave it a couple of days, then sauntered into Zara... and I found the dress! They even had it in my size. I couldn't believe it.

I did get a few more dresses. Two of them (the white and orange) are a bit sheer - do you wear a slip or let everyone have a good look at your thighs?

Kate Middleton's supermarket outfit

Life is sort of back to normal for Duchess Kate... except even to go to the supermarket she has five royal protection officers with her.

Her hair is dead straight here and she's back to wearing her sapphire engagement ring, together with the wedding ring. 

Flats: London Sole
Shawl: Minnie Rose

Source

Hermes So Kelly

My husband offered to buy me this bag. It's the Hermes So Kelly, which is the newer, younger, sportier version of the Kelly. It's in the colour etoupe - taupe - which I love.

Of course I was tempted to get it, just because it was an Hermes (how shallow am I?) and it was immediately available (vs a +/- one year wait for the Birkin or Kelly). But it's not a wow bag. Is it?

I walked out of the boutique... twice (had to go and think about it first, then went back for another look)... empty-handed. I actually said no to an Hermes!

My love for Chanel was too strong. Especially when my husband said, "You could get two Chanel bags for the price of one Hermes"... Imagine a cartoon character whose eyes turn into Chanel logos - that's me. I mean, there is no way my eyes have ever turned into giant H's. Or ever will. Maybe when I'm 60? Who knows.

Just out of curiosity: do you like the bag?

Pippa Middleton in a green McQueen

Pippa looked lovely in McQueen, too: first in the white dress and then the green dress she changed into, which was rather (too?) sexy.

Now wouldn't it be funny if she and Prince Harry got together...? 

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